Anti-Corruption Initiatives Aimed At African Petroleum Industry

A good governance group based in Berlin says corruption in oil-producing countries is among the worst in the world. Transparency International says in Africa, oil-rich states score among the top in its yearly corruption perceptions index. Among those states it lists Angola, Chad, Libya, Nigeria and Sudan.

But the founder and chairperson of the group, Peter Eigen,says there are new initiatives to bring greater openness and accountability to petroleum revenues, and they way they are spent.

Mr. Eigen told Voice of America reporter William Eagle that one is called “Publish What You Pay.” It asks oil companies to publish the amount of money they pay to African governments. Another effort – called "The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative "– asks governments to publish how much they receive from oil revenues, and where those proceeds go.